CORONA DE PLUMAS

RALEIGH, NC – Turbulence: Birds/Beauty/Language/Loss, a solo exhibition of Durham-based environmental artist Deborah Kruger‘s current body of work, is an astute exploration of interconnected crises affecting our planet. On view at the Block Gallery in the Raleigh Municipal Building, Kruger’s sculptural works of hand screen-printing and sewing on recycled plastic center the alarming decline of bird populations and the disappearance of endangered languages to create a discerning visual and cerebral combination. As climate change erodes wildlife habitats, displacing vulnerable bird species, Indigenous communities face similar upheavals, often bearing the brunt of environmental consequences despite contributing minimally to carbon emissions. Kruger’s meticulous process of screen-printing, cutting, and sewing transforms these themes into tactile, layered textile artworks that demand reflection on the fragility of both nature and culture. This exhibition invites viewers to contemplate the beauty and loss inherent in these entangled struggles.

DEVOTIONAL

Dominating an entire wall of the exhibition space, Kruger’s DEVOTIONAL (2023) is a striking hexaptych with six unified panels spanning an estimated seven feet in height and twelve feet in width. From afar, the work resembles a vast, textured blanket or ceremonial cloth featuring blended colors and interwoven patterns. Yet, as one approaches, the tactility of the materials becomes more apparent, with threads – particularly singular gold ones – physically and symbolically binding together each language fragment, icon, character, and hand-printed bird image. Vibrant red tones strike through the white expanse to create a composition that is both beautiful and mournful. There’s a certain unexpected depth created by Kruger’s arrangement of the recycled plastic pieces; the elongated slivers evoke bird plumage, beckoning my fingers to brush through the gaps. Even more so, the depth emphasizes the confounding existence of plastic: our everyday plastics often seem small, even nominal, but when compiled, the volume is colossal and dangerous.

MINI RED HUIPIL 1

Kruger’s MINI RED HUIPIL 1 (2024) is a deeply evocative work, its bowed form poignantly capturing the physical and symbolic weight of beauty and loss’ simultaneity. Drawing from the huipil, a traditional tunic garment worn by Indigenous women in Mexico and other parts of Central America that can indicate the wearer’s ethnicity and community, the piece resonates as both a cultural identifier and a metaphor for the burdens borne by marginalized communities. Suspended on wrapped cording, the huipil appears strained under its own weight, a visual representation of the immense challenges: environmental degradation, cultural erasure, and the call to action for preservation and justice. The predominantly red, black, and gold palette intensifies its impact, and I understand the red to symbolize both vitality and urgency, the black to evoke loss, and gold threads to offer a glimmer of resilience in personal and global strife.

Displayed in a shadow box with a natural linen-textured background and shifting from the monumental to the more intimate, PLUMAS 1 (2022) invites close observation. Hung on bamboo, this piece features the most delicate slivers resembling exquisite, unique feathers. In its enclosed frame, the piece’s narrow forms cast pronounced shadows that feel as permanent as the objects themselves – something notable in comparison to the shadows cast on the beige stone walls by the wire-hung DEVOTIONAL (2023) and MINI RED HUIPIL 1 (2024). My awareness of the physicality and the ephemerality of Kruger’s body of work was heightened by moments of close looking with PLUMAS 1 (2022) and the additional smaller-scale, shadow-boxed works as they echo the impending transience of bird species and endangered languages, the precarious balance between beauty and loss.

While exploring Turbulence: Birds/Beauty/Language/Loss, I could not escape the experience of being enveloped by the dual forces of beauty and grief. Kruger’s works create a layered sensory experience that is both intimate and expansive. The shifting dynamic between the monumental and the smaller-scale mirrors the exhibition’s narrative espousing the severity of collective environmental and cultural crises balanced with individual resilience and responsibility.

The gallery space itself, its earthy-toned marble walls and high ceilings, serves as a fitting backdrop for Kruger’s pieces, amplifying their tactility and shadow play. The shadows, in particular, act as an extension of the works, adding another dimension to their presence. They evoke the lingering absence of what has been lost or is on the verge of disappearance, whether it be bird species, Indigenous languages, or cultural knowledge.

BLACKBIRD

This exhibition invites viewers to reckon with their own complicity in these intersecting crises. The use of recycled plastic underscores humanity’s role in environmental degradation while also demonstrating the potential for transformation and redemption. Kruger’s choice to fragment and layer languages parallels the erasures wrought by colonization and climate change, yet the gold threads offer a subtle note of hope, suggesting that repair and renewal, while arduous, are still possible. Ultimately, Turbulence: Birds/Beauty/Language/Loss is not just a presentation of loss but also a call to action – an opportunity for viewers to engage deeply with the delicate balance of preservation, resistance, and collective responsibility.

Turbulence: Birds/Beauty/Language/Loss is on view at the Block Gallery in the Raleigh Municipal Building through Friday, April 25. Entry is free and open to the public.